Wolverine: Origins #17-18 [Spoilers]

No, I don't generally get this book. I don't dislike Wolverine, but I don't follow his character either. And yes, I only got these few issues (there should be one more coming next month) because they feature Captain America and Bucky. Because I do follow the character of Winter Soldier.

In fact, it's a Winter Soldier month all around here at our house--Captain America 30 and 31, these two books, and Cable and Deadpool 45, which also features Golden-Age Cap and Bucky.

Now, keeping in mind that I don't buy this book and I have no idea what the storylines have been so far, I can start out by saying that I don't think I'll be picking it up. Sometimes that does happen, you know--that I'll try a book because of a guest appearance and end up getting the book on a regular basis. Just not this time.

I don't care much for the art. It's not bad, just not to my taste--for one thing, Wolverine appears uncharacteristically clean-cut--but there are some good points to it, including good facial differentiation among characters and a nice subtlety of expression.

I am enjoying the retakes on the character of Bucky (and, to a lesser extent, Captain America) in the Golden Age; in this case, he is presented as impatient and hot-tempered, and perhaps a bit jealous of his partnership with Cap, which I suppose isn't unrealistic considering how early in their career this is. (I also have to say that it's a rare artist who can make Bucky's Golden Age costume look good on a young adult, and in this book it really doesn't, but I think that may be the point.)

What I find unlikely, though, is that Cap is presented as a bit naive, or at least unaware. In #18, it turns out that he has not been fully briefed about his and Bucky's mission--Bucky has a task to do (taking out Baron Strucker) that Cap knows nothing about. My impression, from reading elsewhere, was that Cap may not have taken part in the bloodier aspects of their missions, but he certainly knew about them, and knew what Bucky was up to. The notion of Bucky as more informed than Cap really doesn't fit with what I've gathered so far.

One thing I am enjoying about this storyline is that it shows that Cap didn't become a living legend overnight--that, like anyone else, he had to prove himself. You don't see that a lot in Captain America origin stories--usually he struggles while in training, but as soon as he goes official, he's immediately Captain America. Here you see how he did it, which is kind of cool.